K. VENKATESWARA RAO AND ANR. vs BEKKAM NARASIMHA REDDI & ORS.

The Supreme Court held that under Sections 79(b) and 82(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a candidate who withdraws from the contest is not considered a candidate for the purposes of an election petition. The Court ruled that the allegations against the withdrawn candidate, R, constituted corrupt practice, thus the delay in impleading him could not be condoned as the election petition is governed by specific provisions of the Representation of the People Act, which do not allow for the application of the Limitation Act, 1963. Consequently, the election petition was dismissed for non-compliance with the statutory requirements.